The High Court has ordered summary judgment for Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC in its claim against Rito and Teresa Macari over two loans originally issued by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Ltd. The defendants confirmed at the hearing that they no longer contested the proceedings. The court said judgment would be entered in the terms of the lender’s motion, but left a proposed stay and costs for a further hearing.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons delivered the judgment on 7 February 2023. The loans were €4.056 million, with a 20-year term including a 24-month interest-only period, and €250,000 for six years. The judgment records that the facilities were later transferred through Ennis Property Finance Ltd to Pepper Finance. After some secured properties were sold, Pepper demanded €3,456,226.50 in December 2020. The demand remained unpaid.
In a signed letter filed in February 2022, the defendants acknowledged borrowing €4.306 million. They said they had understood the larger loan could remain interest-only on request and that cooperation with the sale of secured properties would result in full and final settlement. The letter also raised difficulty obtaining documents and questioned whether rents and sale proceeds had been properly credited.
The letter did not meet the court rules for an affidavit. As Pepper had not objected to its form, the judge considered it provisionally. At the January 2023 hearing, Mr Macari said he had no documents supporting the points in the letter. He could not identify who had allegedly promised that the property sales would settle the debt in full. The concern about rents and sale proceeds was not pursued, and the defendants filed no affidavit evidence.
The judge concluded that the interest-only claim was unsupported and contradicted by the loan documents, and that the defendants had demonstrated no credible defence. The court had also considered Pepper’s affidavits and exhibits, which it found established the loans, drawdowns, unsatisfied demand and transfers of ownership.
The judgment says summary judgment would be entered in the terms of Pepper’s motion of 24 September 2021. The judge’s view on a six-month stay was provisional, to allow the defendants time to seek a personal insolvency arrangement if they wished. His view that each side should bear its own costs was also provisional. The matter was listed remotely for 13 February 2023 to finalise the order and hear submissions on the proposed stay and costs.